


Edeleth week 2019

by Nyashi



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-07 21:23:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20824016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyashi/pseuds/Nyashi
Summary: Collection of short fics for Edeleth week, with complementary illustrations!





	1. Snow Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of a collaboration with the absolutely lovely @buttersphere on twitter, who's also responsible for drawing my icon! Go check her beautiful illustration out over at  
https://twitter.com/Buttersphere/status/1178393808930660352?s=20  
With that out of the way: here's my, comparatively less impressive, end of the collab!  
Enjoy!

Edelgard should’ve hated snow.

That detestable silver snow that acted as a grim reminder.

Cold and damp like the dark halls they’d been locked in.

Those violent, blood-soaked halls that had eaten all but one alive.

But in snow’s deceitful, ruthless purity Edelgard found kinship:

She herself had crafted a mask of cold steel, equal parts shield and cage.

A self-imposed exile.

A silent vow to change the world.

And yet she yearned for the warmth of another, a bearer of flames like herself.

But in her silent yearning Edelgard found fear. Fear of trusting someone, fear of the unknown.

Would that flame lead her through the dark or burn her at the stake? Only time could tell.

“Let’s head inside, you must be freezing” the kindred spirit said.

Edelgard smiled.

Their hands nearly met that day.


	2. Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day two! Here's today's illustration:  
https://twitter.com/Buttersphere/status/1178711599554543618?s=20  
It would mean a lot to me if you guys checked it out, a LOT of work went into it.  
Without further delay, here's my half of the collab.

“Edelgard!” the professor’s face lit up as she jogged over “I found some Bergamot leaves at the market, care to join me?” her smile was mellow and warm like the setting sun.

Edelgard smiled, the professor remembered her offhand remark about liking the blend.

They sat down for tea as the day neared its end, the monastery dyed the colour of Bergamot.

Edelgard smiled at the thought. The professor would’ve no doubt come up with a more clever simile, but edelgard was perfectly content with something as small as a cup of tea.

Edelgard listened to the professor’s chatter. She listened to her talking about a certain cat that reminded her of Hubert, of Caspar’s reaction upon realizing he’d been using Dorothea’s undershirt as a sweat rag and the subsequent embarrassment when he bought her a new one and got the size wrong.

She talked about Ferdinand’s escapade with the demonic beasts (that one made Edelgard sigh), and how she wished she could just adopt Bernadetta rather than leave her in Count Varley’s clutches.

Edelgard loved hearing the professor’s stories, and yet she couldn’t stop the heavy feeling weighing her heart down:

Guilt.

She knew their peaceful days would come to an end soon.

She knew she would be the one to tear those cherished halls down.

“Edelgard? You look pensive, is something on your mind?” The professor sounded concerned her warm smile threatened to leave her face.

“Oh, it’s…” Edelgard trailed off, looking for an excuse. Her eyes briefly roamed the scenery for inspiration.

“It’s the tea” she said “It’s quite hot”

A smile found its way back to the profesor’s face.

Edelgard basked in the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... the word limit thing didn't work.  
I decided to scrap it because it was more trouble than it was worth, i'll try to keep each chapter brief but arbitrary word counts aren't the way to do it.  
Hope you liked this, see you guys tomorrow!


	3. Back to Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3!  
You know the deal by this point, go show the artist some love over at  
https://twitter.com/Buttersphere/status/1179051949955530752?s=20  
Without further delay, here's the chapter!

The professor had picked her.

Edelgard had prepared herself to lose everything, she was ready to leave the Holy Tomb alone with Hubert and never look back.

“That’s how it’s always been” she’d tell herself.

“I’m ready to pay any price” she tried to convince herself.

And she cried herself to sleep.

But Byleth had picked her. The vessel of the goddess had pointed her sword at the church itself in an ironic twist of fate.

The professor had broken through Edelgard’s hesitation and taken her hand of her own volition. The bearers of the flames were together at last, and what a sight it was to behold.

Edelgard realised she liked holding the professor’s hand, it brought her comfort. Sure it also brought them a lot of stares from the confused people at the black eagle military camp, but Edelgard struggled to care.

“You know, I’m not planning on leaving any time soon” Byleth said “You don’t have to hold onto me”

“Do you not like this?” Edelgard asked. The thought of letting go pained her but the thought of annoying the professor made her more than a little apprehensive.

“I don’t mind, really. I figured you weren’t the type for physical contact” Edelgard was a little disappointed that the professor had failed to see through her on that front .

“Or, well, I figured that’s what you wanted to convey.” Byleth completed the thought, bringing Edelgard relief and embarrassment alike.

“I just… need to make sure this is all real” Edelgard said, doing her best to ignore Dorothea snickering at their interlocked fingers “I don’t want to wake up and find myself all alone, not again.” She said too much, Edelgard stopped herself from speaking further.

Byleth’s expression softened and she squeezed her hand

“I’m with you every step of the way, my Emperor”

Edelgard giggled “Just Edelgard is fine”

“Then I promise I won’t leave you, Edelgard.” Byleth closed what distance was between them, their shoulders brushing.

If only she could’ve kept that promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I'm not SUPER happy about this chapter but it's already past midnight and i gotta start working on day 4 already, I swear daily chapters are gonna kill me...  
Obligatory shilling of my twitter over at @NyashiATS, if you wanna yell at me that's the place to do it.   
See you guys tomorrow!


	4. Novel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today's illustration can be found here!  
https://twitter.com/Buttersphere/status/1179412260252467201?s=20  
No Byleth in this chapter but it's ABOUT her so it still qualifies for Edeleth week, right?

With one final brush stroke the piece was done. Edelgard set yet another canvas aside, she wouldn’t let herself forget even one detail of the professor’s face.

Explaining to Hubert why she needed so many canvases would have been hard, but he never asked. Edelgard appreciated him deeply for that.

She felt like a red rose seeking the sun.

Covered in thorns. Stained by blood.

Cold.

She felt a knock on the door and rushed to stow the canvas in her closet. She composed herself and opened the door.

“May I come in?” Lysithea asked. Edelgard had yet to get used to the fact the younger girl had gotten taller than her.

“Oh, I was expecting Hubert” Edelgard said “Sure, come in. I can send Hubert to fetch us some tea if you’d like” Edelgard felt bad about burdening her best friend with menial tasks, but the last time she’d dared go to the dining hall and brew herself a cup he’d lectured her about how unsafe the kitchen was and how he was always glad to help. Edelgard appreciated this aspect of her best friend a lot less than his aversion to prying.

Lysithea walked into the room “It’s alright, no need for tea I’ll be brief” she said as she sat down on the bed. Over the years Lysithea had grown much more comfortable around Edelgard, the Emperor appreciated her dearly. Edelgard sat down at her desk and turned towards Lysithea.

“As you wish. By all means go ahead” As comfortable as Lysithea had grown around Edelgard she still always waited for her turn to speak, no doubt thanks to Duke Ordelia’s upbringing. Edelgard had faint memories of the man and his wife, they were always very prim and proper and that reflected in their daughter.

“I heard you speak to the professor.” Lysithea started, Edelgard’s eyes briefly widened upon hearing her refer to Byleth. The Eagles had, probably, agreed not to mention her in Edelgard’s presence. Be it out of respect or fear of an outburst. Edelgard felt deeply remorseful that her friends had come to fear her, but she couldn’t deny she grew quite irrational when talk of the woman came into play. “Five years ago, I mean. I was on my way to the library and heard you guys in the Captain’s quarters. Sorry for eavesdropping.”

Edelgard took a second to try and remember the occasion but Lysithea cut her off

“After Captain Jeralt died I heard you talk to professor Byleth about grief. Your words spoke to me, as much as it was out of line of me to hear them. If you wish to punish me for that I only ask that you wait until I’m done” her eyes showed no fear or jest, Lysithea was truly offering herself for punishment for something as minor as overhearing a conversation.

“Lysithea, you know I care about you. I wouldn’t punish anyone for something as small as that, let alone punish one of my closest allies.” Lysithea showed her a small smile.

“You can say best friends, Edelgard” the words made Edelgard blush, being able to call someone other than Hubert a friend was new to her. New, but not unwelcome.

Edelgard cleared her throat “As you were saying?” She hoped the younger girl would catch onto her silent plea to go back to less embarrassing topics.

“I just came here to parrot your own words, I’m afraid I’m not as skilled as you are with them.” It finally clicked in Edelgard’s mind.

“You want me to stop… grieving for the professor” she tried not to sound strained but she could hear some of the warmth leave her own voice. In that moment she couldn’t blame the other eagles for not wanting to mention the professor in her presence.

“Yes, that’s what I came here to tell you. But I’m not going to tell you to accept that she’s gone.” Edelgard’s gaze grew puzzled, Lysithea continued.

“You need to believe in the professor, you need to trust her. She said she wouldn’t leave you and I believe her, she’ll come back to us. I just know she will.” Lyisithea’s voice sounded slightly choked up, as if she was holding back her own tears for the professor. Edelgard realized she’d been extremely selfish ever since the professor had left them, focusing on her own grief and discarding the others’.

“And when she comes back, I want to be able to greet her with a smile. I want to be able to tell her ‘Took you long enough to come back! The war’s almost won already!’ because I’m too awkward to bring myself to welcome her back sincerely.” Edelgard smiled at Lysithea’s self-awareness.

“What I’m saying is… Don’t let the professor come back to find a scared young girl, show her the might of Emperor Edelgard. I know you’re more than capable of it.” Lysithea had moved to the edge of the bed while giving her speech.

“That’s all I wanted to say, sorry for taking up your time” she got up and headed towards the door. As she was about to leave the room Edelgard stopped her

“Lysithea” she said “Wait for me in the dining hall, I’ll get us something sweet” Lysithea’s face lit up

“As you wish, my Emperor.” She smiled at Edelgard

“Just Edelgard is fine” she found herself saying once more.

“Very well, Edelgard. Don’t be late.” And with that she was off.

Edelgard opened her closet and stroked the canvas gently

“I’m sorry” she whispered “I’ll be stronger from now on, I promise.”

Her flame had been reignited, the Hegemon could spread her wings once more.

But first she’d need to find some sweets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters have been getting longer and longer, but seeing how today's prompt was "Novel" I don't feel as bad about making a longer chapter.  
Yadda yadda @NyashiATS on twitter, you know the drill by now. See you guys tomorrow!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed, hit me up on twitter (@NyashiATS) if you wanna yell at me about something.  
See you tomorrow!


End file.
